The patent troll Eolas suffered a major setback on Thursday as a Texas jury …

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An East Texas patent case that has attracted the attention of the technology world came to a screeching halt Thursday as the jury ruled that the key patent in the case is invalid. Eolas, a patent troll that has been shaking down technology companies for the better part of a decade, now faces the prospect of losing the patent.

As our sister site Wired reported yesterday, the case centers on a biologist, Michael Doyle, who claims to have invented the concept of interactive websites back in 1993. He applied for a patent, which was granted in 1998.

But Doyle's claims are sharply disputed by many in the Internet community, including World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee. They've pointed to prior art, including Viola, an early Web browser created by Pei-Yuan Wei.

Companies that depend on the open Web hailed the verdict. "We are pleased that the court found the patents invalid, as it affirms our assertion that the claims are without merit," a Google spokesperson told Ars.

Indeed, the sighs of relief likely extend beyond Silicon Valley. In addition to traditional technology companies, Eolas had also sued a number of others firms, ranging from Frito-Lay to Playboy.